Microwave ovens have exploded in popularity for quickly heating food. Uncovered food in a microwave has a tendency to dry out over when being cooked. Plastic sheaths such as Saran.RTM. wrap have been used to cover single microwave plates. A microwaveable cooking hood has been used that completely covers about a single plate. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,754 to Chiba. However, none of the known prior art allows for having plural plates of food to be microwaved at one time. Often it important in both commercial use(i.e. restaurants) and residential home use to be able to simultaneously heat up plural food plates. Multiple plates cannot be adequately stacked on top of plastic sheath covered plates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,461 to Gilmore describes a "stackable plate arrangement for microwave dishes", title. However, the Gilmore patent interconnects plural discs with vertical pole supports. The Gilmore device would require the user to build the structure as plates are being mounted on each level and then the entire structure with plural plates is inserted into a microwave. Besides the inherent difficulty of having to move the entire multi-level structure at one time, there are no covers for each of the multi-levels. One still has to use plastic sheathing and/or hood covers on each level.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,165 to Von der Osten describes a "stackable table service", title. However, this patent is directed toward creating a unique and uniform place settings of modifying existing plates to be somewhat bowl shaped with side extending rims, and separating insert plates therebetween. The elaborate Von der Osten device cannot be used with everyday type planar shaped plates that most people use to be microwaved. Von der Osten further does not allow for a cover for the top plate, and does not describe any use for being microwaved.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,793,298 to Alaj describes a "combination dish and cover", that appears in FIG. 2 to be stackable. However, the Alaj devices are basically flat topped hood covers made from "metallic" type materials, that cannot be used in microwaves. Furthermore, each of the hoods requires covering lids with smooth sides that slope outward with thickened rim bases. The smooth sides do not allow users to be able to grip the hoods by their sides.
Covering food plates substantially with plastic sheaths and covers does not allow food to be evenly cooked and causes pressure to buildup under the closed covers. Furthermore sealing off the plates does causes all the different food on a plate to be contaminated and overpowered by other food so that the food taste becomes mixed.